Elijah opened his eyes and saw a heavily injured goblin giving him water and slapping his face, saying, "Lord, please wake up!"
Elijah sat up, ready to fight again, but what he saw devastated him. The hall had no doors, and a part of the wall was clearly filled with blood. "What happened?" he asked the goblin.
The goblin explained, "We saw you being bludgeoned to the head and falling headfirst. As subjects, we were instilled by the system to put your well-being first, so we charged at the kobolds because we were afraid that you might be killed."
Thinking about the night before, Elijah realized that the goblins had been able to put up a barricade outside the hall and were just defending. He had been foolish to try and flank the kobolds, thinking that he was something special. "I'm sorry," he said. "I was so stupid. Why did I do it?"
The goblin replied, "You were just trying to help, Lord. But it's okay. We are here to protect you."
Elijah was filled with pain and regret. The goblins had died for him, protected him, and he had done nothing for them but put them in harm's way. He asked the goblin what the casualties were.
The goblin informed him that there were only four goblins alive, and one of them had lost an eye during the skirmish. Elijah was mortified and angry at himself for his recklessness. He also saw that the goblin was not only injured but had red eyes as if it had been crying. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I didn't mean for this to happen."
The goblin replied, "It's not your fault, Lord. We are happy to serve you, and we will continue to do so."
Elijah asked what had happened to the kobolds.
The goblin replied, "Ten kobolds survived and ran away. I'm afraid they might come back with more people."
Elijah knew that they had to be prepared for another attack. He looked at the goblin and said, "Thank you for protecting me. I will make sure that this never happens again."